I saw a canvas grocery bag sitting unused at someone’s desk at work, and it made me realize I haven’t seen them in use at grocery stores in some time. It also got me thinking that it really captured the whole “feelings before thinking” that drives popular environmentalism.

When those bags first hit, they were the equivalent of wearing an “I drive a Prius” t-shirt, and then it was discovered that disposable bags were actually healthier. And this is where feeling vs. thinking comes in – this development shouldn’t have been a surprise at all. Just thinking through the whole grocery shopping process would have led to the conclusion that a cloth bag exposed repeatedly to unwashed fruits and vegetables along with various containers that often leak couldn’t help but turn into a petri dish.